Conquer Europe from the West

Chapter 108 Prefabricated Fragmentation Airburst Bomb

Lieutenant Brinkman made careful preparations for his superior's visit to his father to discuss the actual combat testing of the new equipment.

Then, the day before departure, Ryan heard that the head of the Equipment Development Institute was trying to find people to use their connections to buy an imported United States-made shotgun.

Are you kidding? I'm going there to do business, not to get scolded!

Then he quickly dropped the matter and sent the demand for new equipment to the Equipment Development Institute through Colonel Schmidt and Brigadier General Bryan.

But the new equipment proposed by Ryan is somewhat different from conventional depth charges.

For submarines, the killing method of depth charges is to expand the coverage of the explosion shock wave through the incompressibility of water, thereby forcing the submarine to surface, or to break the submarine's external pressure hull at close range and sink the submarine.

Ryan wanted to use the air liaison boat to detonate the bomb by airburst.

Taking into account the compressibility of air, even if it is one hundred kilograms of TNT, its shock wave can generally only cover a range of thirty to forty meters.

People who are farther away will most likely only suffer minor injuries, and if they are lucky, they may not even experience tinnitus.

Therefore, Ryan made an additional request to fill the explosives with fifty kilograms of prefabricated fragments.

Specifically, they hope to be able to stuff a small iron ball weighing 50 kilograms and with a diameter of one centimeter into the explosives.

These small iron balls will become the main means of killing.

In a front-line environment, this prefabricated explosive filled with a large number of iron balls will be able to effectively cause sufficient damage to artillerymen who have to move on large flat ground in order to operate their artillery.

Likewise, Brigadier General Brian's face was as effective as Ryan had expected.

Brigadier General Bryan almost immediately persuaded Lord Brinkman and obtained the other party's promise to provide 400 custom-made bombs before September 10th.

The news from the Air Force is equally good.

The proposal of prefabricated fragmentation explosives was quickly recognized by most generals in the Air Force. They first tried to produce a batch of similar explosives using the equipment they had on hand. In subsequent tests, they determined the minimum safe flight altitude for airships using this type of equipment, as well as relevant experience in delivery.

The airship units and air liaison boats that were about to be allowed to use this type of equipment on the battlefield for the first time began large-scale and high-intensity training on September 4, the day before the battle began.

By the time Ryan's 502nd Regiment received the first batch of 120 training bombs, it was already September th.

The air liaison boats equipped with the Wave-class had entered a state of frantic training at this point, and on the next day, September 7, the Fifth Army, responsible for launching a feint attack on Verdun, officially entered the battlefield.

On that day, the Sixth Army launched an attack from the front of the Farland fortress with three regiments and successfully retreated under the cover of smoke bombs, causing the Farlanders to waste more than 400 artillery shells.

It is now late at night on September 7th, and in less than two hours it will be the 8th.

502nd Regiment Headquarters.

The light bulb emitting orange-yellow light made a buzzing sound, illuminating the room of about 30 square meters. Ryan sat at a table with a huge war zone map, looking sideways at the battle map that overlapped with the system map.

This battle is different from the previous ones.

Because Ryan had previously led his troops to capture Ostend, he was now able to see all the situations in Ostend and the border of the empire.

In addition, the Empire chose the offensive + occupation method in this front-line operation, so Ryan saw the scene on the front line very clearly.

At present, the entire battle line runs eastward along Palu, with a total of three different battlefields on the north and south sides of the Maine River.

The first battlefield was located in the northeast corner of Palu. Crook placed the Fourth Army of the First Army here to fight against the newly formed Sixth Army of the Farlans to protect Palu.

But the Fourth Army was very conservative in its actions. They only sent two regiments to the front line, quickly building small positions with concrete and Esco explosion-proof walls, and then set up machine guns and squatted in place to engage in a sit-in war with the Farlans.

There's no way, this is how it is when there are few people.

But on the south side of the Maine River, forty or fifty kilometers away from them, the scene was completely different.

After crossing the Maine River, the First and Second Armies immediately launched a head-on confrontation with the Farlan Fifth Army and the United Kingdom troops stationed in Perije who had been driven out of the territory by the Kingdom of Perije.

The artillery fire from both sides has been going on since the 5th, so that the color on the map has changed from the original green to a bluish gray - the water-rich mud layers underground have been blown up to the light of day.

The United Kingdom and the Farland Fifth Army were not in good shape either.

Ryan could tell from their dispatch that the two troops seemed to have been retreating, because they had retreated five or six kilometers from this morning to this afternoon. If they retreated any further, the front line might reach the door of their artillery position.

The Imperial Army did not dare to advance further because of this, but the commanders of the First and Second Armies immediately withdrew their front lines after repeatedly confirming this.

Firstly, their artillery supply was stuck on the road due to a train breakdown, and secondly, the Second Army discovered that the Farland Ninth Army was preparing to launch an attack from its left wing.

However, they did not mention this in the telegram they sent to Moltke the Younger. The content was - the Farland Army was almost defeated, and our army is currently gathering forces and trying to launch an attack on the Farland Sixth Army in Palu.

Then, as expected, Moltke the Younger got furious in the general staff.

He sent more than forty telegrams in succession, trying to use various micro-manipulations to keep the First and Second Armies advancing.

It was not until the reconnaissance aircraft unit of the Third Army on the north bank of the Maine River discovered that Farlan had an army preparing to launch an attack from the left wing of the Second Army that he finally shut up and returned the command of the front line to Krug and Bilo, the commanders of the First and Second Armies.

At this point, the First and Second Armies immediately recalled the troops that had not been sent out at all, and re-established a second line of defense about ten kilometers away from the Maine River.

About 30 kilometers away from them, separated by the Maine River, Commander Hausen of the Third Army was leading his troops like crazy to build fortifications behind the Second Army.

According to the combat plan, the Third Army should cooperate with the Fourth Army to complete the construction of the defense line on the flank of the Fifth Army.

But Hausen had no idea that the Seventh Army had actually prepared more than 20,000 sets of Esco explosion-proof walls. The equipment, which took three trains to transport to the front line, immediately overwhelmed him and the commander-in-chief of the Fourth Army, Duke Albrecht.

After the two sides discussed it, they immediately decided to have their troops establish a defensive position on the north bank of the Maine River with manpower, and sent the bulldozers and excavators in the troops to the position behind the Second Army, and used concrete to quickly build fortifications to provide cover for the Second Army's retreat.

As for the Fifth Army...

Admiral Constantine had the misfortune of being targeted by the emperor's eldest son before he set out. The young prince entered the battlefield as a staff officer of the Fifth Army, but before he could even get comfortable on the front line, a stray bullet made four holes in his butt. He was now rushed back to the imperial capital, and his life or death was uncertain.

Because of this, Admiral Constantine had to fly back to the imperial capital in person, and then he had a fight with the emperor in the imperial capital over this matter.

The commander-in-chief's departure also caused the troops to enter the battlefield one day later than other troops - they should have entered the battlefield on the 4th, but actually arrived at the front line late at night on the 6th.

Fortunately, the communication between the Sixth Army and them was very close, so there was no situation where one side had already launched an attack while the other side was still singing military songs and eating potatoes in the rear and marching forward.

But the reality is more abstract.

Verdun, surrounded by the Fifth and Sixth Armies, was a fortress group with three fortress artillery positions that could cover the battlefield up to 20 kilometers away.

It would take at least a week for the imperial front artillery units to deliver the 203mm guns to the front line, and the 150mm guns were difficult to enter the battlefield because it had rained a few days ago.

As a result, both the Farlan Army and the Imperial Army could only rely on the 75 and 76 guns at hand to fight each other on the front line, while the Sixth Army, which had 203 guns and a Big Bertha, could instead throw garbage at the Farlans at the edge of their maximum range.

It can be said that, on the surface, up to now - that is, until 10 o'clock in the evening on September 7th, the situation on the front line was still under control.

But both Ryan and the army group commanders and staff commanders were very clear about one thing.

The most important part of this war has not yet begun.

This is why Ryan called all senior officers to the headquarters.

A few sparse footsteps were heard, and Brinkman came up to Ryan and said to him, "Lieutenant Colonel, everyone is here."

Ryan immediately came to his senses. He shook his head, rubbed his face vigorously, and turned to look at everyone present. The four captains of the fleet and their first and second officers were leaning against the innermost part of the headquarters. Outside were the commanders of the three battalions of the 502nd Regiment and thirteen company commanders.

Brinkman, the adjutant, and Lieutenant Perris stood on Ryan's right, busy processing documents.

"The location of the Farlan headquarters has not yet been confirmed on the front lines."

Without further ado, Ryan spoke directly.

"But considering that the Battle of the Maine has already begun, we must also prepare as soon as possible."

"Many of you should already know our upcoming combat mission and attack targets, but now the situation has changed."

Lane made way for Brinkmann so that she could place the last few corps and brigade models on the map centered on Verdun.

The positions of the troops on the map were not based on the data provided by the system map, but were placed according to the intelligence provided by the front line at noon on the 6th, but this was not a big problem.

After a brief confirmation, Ryan said, "This operation is completely different from the previous operations in Alsace and Ostend."

"All soldiers and officers in the infantry regiment who have passed the training assessment and received combat clearance will be deployed to the battlefield. Therefore, you probably won't have the chance to complete this operation with almost no losses like the previous two times."

As he spoke, Ryan nodded to Brinkman, indicating that he should place all the models representing the 502nd Regiment on the map.

Everyone immediately stared at the map.

"On the 10th, we will borrow the Luftwaffe's Zeppelin fleet to go to the battlefield and station ourselves directly behind the Fifth Army, about 120 kilometers from the front line."

"If all goes well, our troops will wait at our base until the front lines receive the precise location of the enemy headquarters. Then, they will depart late that night to execute a decapitation operation against the frontline headquarters."

"This task is entrusted to Lieutenant Kayneth, the acting commander of the assault company. He has carried out similar operations some time ago, so please feel free to raise any comments."

Kayneth, the adjutant of Lieutenant Schneider, the assault company commander, was now working under Ryan with his troops because the company commander had gone home to visit his family.

However, Ryan had no intention of seizing Schneider's troops, so he did not cut the assault company's organization, but only promoted him to wartime second lieutenant to take over the command of the troops in place of Schneider who was absent.

No one else had any objection to this - except the commander of the Second Battalion, who was the former commander of the Second Battalion.

He said, "One company shouldn't be enough to handle the headquarters, right? The Farlans prefer to use one or two battalions to protect the headquarters. This isn't a scale that a single company can handle."

Ryan nodded at him and looked at Schmidt beside him: "It's not a big deal, we have air support."

The victory in the last battle was achieved by relying on air support. Both Ryan and Schmidt firmly believed in this.

After hearing this, the second battalion commander immediately shut his mouth wisely.

He was one of the few people who could obtain relevant intelligence, and there was no need to explain the suppressive power of air support on ground forces.

Then, Brinkmann began to use thumbtacks and thread to circle the Varenne-en-Argonne region and the Saint-Mihiel region, and also marked Epernay, Comercy and other places.

These are the areas where the standoff is currently taking place, which are now the front lines of the empire.

Most of the Fifth Army's forces were confronting the enemy on this front with a total length of about 60 kilometers, but they would never launch a real charge before the enemy's headquarters was completely destroyed.

Because their job is to hold the front line and draw fire for friendly forces by feinting.

Everyone present was well aware of this.

And they also know that these areas will be the targets of various troops.

"First Battalion!" (formerly the Fourth Battalion)
Ryan pointed to the position at Varenne-en-Argonne. "Once you arrive at the front, you will be dropped in platoons by airships around the enemy artillery positions behind this line."

"The mission is to destroy all enemy artillery. After destroying the enemy artillery positions, use honor communications to send offensive intelligence to the friendly forces of the Fifth Army!"

"The Second and Third Battalions will also operate with you. Each battalion will be responsible for clearing all enemy artillery positions within the 20-kilometer-long battle line. This is no easy task, so you must ensure that all units' attacks are launched at the same time."

At the same time, Brinkmann also distributed intelligence about the Farlan artillery unit to everyone.

"According to the intelligence provided by our frontline troops, the Farlans have deployed approximately 30 artillery companies and two heavy artillery battalions on the front line."

"The intervals between these artillery batteries generally range from 500 to 800 meters, so you must time your attacks carefully to avoid alerting the enemy."

Ryan used a small stick beside him to point several times at the battle line, where there were artillery positions that had been discovered.

"Considering that the Farlans are likely to deliver heavy artillery to the front lines during this period, the Second Battalion must consider the threat of the enemy's heavy artillery battalion, which may be deployed in the center of the front line. If they don't set up a heavy artillery camp, then everything will be fine..."

Ryan's voice became very soft. He looked at the Second Battalion Commander and said, "If we meet..."

The Second Battalion Commander immediately patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, as long as we can land them, we will kill them cleanly."

His troops won a great victory in the last Battle of Belfort. Relying on the terrain and sneak attacks, they successfully overwhelmed two regiments of Falconers and gave them a good beating. The morale boosted by the victory has not disappeared until now, and each of the young men is as excited as if he had been injected with chicken blood.

"I can rest assured that."

Ryan nodded, put the stick aside, and then said to Perris, "Second Lieutenant, you come and explain to them the method and order of deployment of the troops."

"Yes!"

Perris, who had been slacking off, immediately stepped forward and took over Ryan's job.

Ryan made a look to Colonel Schmidt of the airship unit and the other three captains, asking them to talk to the side, and walked to a small desk at the back of the headquarters.

"Is there anything else you want to say?"

The captain of Z332 glanced back at those who were still in the meeting, and took the opportunity to ask Ryan questions.

In fact, he had already confirmed the content of this operation last week, and the troops had already practiced low-altitude flying and rappelling to the point where they could do it with their eyes closed.

But Ryan ignored him. After taking a deep breath, he took out several small boxes from the drawer and handed them to the four captains, including Schmidt. He said, "Although I have already told the General Staff that we don't need these things, they still seem to want to force us to bring them."

"What's the matter?"

Schmidt seemed to have noticed something, but he still asked subconsciously and opened the box.

"Fuck you!"

Realizing that something was wrong, Ryan immediately reached out to stop Schmidt, but he was still a step too late.

Immediately afterwards, a blinding white light instantly filled the entire room, followed by several heart-wrenching screams - except for Ryan and Perris who had her back to them, everyone else was blinded.

"I told you to stop driving."

Ryan cursed, eyes closed, and fumbled to close the lid of the box. He said, "The equipment development institute gave me this stuff. I was blinded once this morning."

Schmidt sat on the ground with red eyes, tears streaming down his face. The others were not much better. The captain of Z333 even shouted out: "What the hell is this! I can't see anything! Someone, help me up, damn..."

Then he heard Ryan's voice.

"This is a magic-powered portable optical communication light sent by the Equipment Development Institute for use on your airship."

(End of this chapter)